COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Ohio State softball team continues Big Ten play this weekend against Purdue at Buckeye Field. Due to field conditions in West Lafayette, Ind., the conference series vs. Purdue was moved to Columbus. See below for dates and times of the series between the Buckeyes (20-9; 2-1 Big Ten) and Boilermakers (11-18; 0-3 Big Ten). As always, admission is free.

FOLLOWING FROM HOMEA link to Gametracker for each game this weekend can be found on the Ohio State softball schedule page on OhioStateBuckeyes.com. Follow live action and play-by-play also on our twitter page at @OhioState_SB.

ALL-TIME SERIES Ohio State vs.Purdue: 19-15; The Buckeyes won the seven of the first 10 meetings in the series, which began on April 15, 1995.

SCOUTING PURDUEThe Boilermakers are 11-18 overall after falling in three games last weekend vs. Michigan to begin conference play. Purdue is batting .251 as a team led by outfielder Andie Varsho, who leads the way with a .396 average, 18 RBI, 15 runs and 13 stolen bases. Second baseman Ashley Burkhardt boasts a .347 average with a team-best 23 runs, eight RBI and 11 steals. The Boilermaker pitching staff has a combined for a 3.16 ERA and 113 strikeouts.

SOME NOTES FROM INDIANA SERIES

Ohio State claimed its first conference series win of the season vs. Indiana March 22-23 in Columbus.

Taylor Watkins batted a team-best .500 with two doubles, a home run and five RBI vs. the Hoosiers, while Leesa Greham went 6-for-13 at the plate with a pair of doubles and a home run.

Sophomore Olivia O’Reilly claimed her first-career save after throwing the final two innings in the 9-5 win in game one.

The 6-4 loss in nine innings in game two was the longest contest for the Buckeye to date this year. The Hoosiers and Buckeyes combined for 94 at bats and 30 runners left on base.

Watkins tied her season-best with four RBI in game three, going 3-for-4 with a home run, two doubles and three runs scored.

Alex DiDomenico posted her fifth-complete game win of the season, limiting the IU bats to two runs (one earned) on three hits with five strikeouts.

PRANTL NAMED BIG TEN FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK Ohio State freshman Cammi Prantl has been named Big Ten Freshman of the Week, the conference office March 28. The award is the first career Big Ten weekly honor for Prantl.

Prantl, a native of Ashville, Ohio, hit .560 (14-for-25) with one double, eight runs scored and five RBI, helping Ohio State to a 6-1 record on the spring break trip March 13-17. The OSU outfielder recorded five multi-hit games, including two 3-for-3 efforts, and scored at least once in five contests. Prantl becomes the first Ohio State Big Ten Freshman of the Week since Melissa Rennie was honored during the 2011 campaign.

DIDOMENICO IN THE CIRCLEOhio State sophomore Alex DiDomenico is having a great start to the 2013 campaign, posting a 8-3 overall record with a 1.43 ERA, which is third best in the Big Ten. She is second among Big Ten pitchers in earned runs allowed (16) and first in runs allowed (31) in 2013. DiDomenico was named Big Ten Pitcher of the Week Feb. 18 after notching a spotless earned run average pitching 15 innings in three appearances at the Jacksonville Tournament Feb. 15-17 where she held opponents to a .130 average.

Overall, DiDomenico has claimed wins against three Top 20 teams this season, including Georgia, Louisville and Arizona. She also has collected a team-best four complete-game shutouts.

CARRILLO NAMED OHIO STATE ATHLETE OF THE WEEKFirst baseman Evelyn Carrillo helped the Buckeyes become Red and Black Showcase Champions with a 4-1 record last weekend in Athens, Ga. She batted .444 with eight hits, seven RBI, a home run and a stolen base in five games. Carrillo went 3-for-5 at the plate with an RBI in the 5-4 extra inning, upset victory over No. 8 Georgia Feb. 9. The win marked the first for the Buckeyes against the Bulldogs in program history.

QUICK HITS

Ohio State is 20-9 overall after going 2-1 last weekend against Indiana. The Buckeyes won game one, 9-5, and game three, 8-2, vs. the Hoosiers to post their first conference series win of 2013.

As a team, Ohio State leads the Big Ten in doubles (46), second in runs scored (175), hits (265), RBI (160) and totals bases (383) and tied for second in batting average (.318) and on base percentage (.398).

Sophomore Taylor Watkins leads the team with a .414 batting average, which is seventh in the Big Ten. She also leads the squad in hits (41), total bases (66) and stolen bases (9).

Freshman Cammi Prantl has a .384 batting average with 38 hits, six doubles and 14 RBI. Prantl leads Ohio State with 12 multi-hit games in 2013.

Sophomore Maddy McIntyre leads the Big Ten in walks with 25 and is fifth in the conference in on base percentage (.490).

Junior Leesa Gresham is fourth in the Big Ten in slugging percentage (.759), leading the Buckeyes with seven home runs and nine doubles. In the last 10 games, Gresham is batting .417 with three doubles, one triple, four home runs and a .889 slugging percentage.

Sophomore pitcher Alex DiDomenico is third in the Big Ten in ERA (1.43) and opposing batting average (.1190).

First-year head coach Kelly Kovach Schoenly picked up her first win at Ohio State in the opening game of the season after the team downed Elon, 10-2, in five innings.

The Buckeyes were named the 2013 Red and Black Showcase Champions Feb. 10 after going 4-1 at Georgia’s opening tournament. The weekend was a highlighted by a 5-4 upset over No. 8 Georgia in eight innings Feb. 9. The win marked first win against the Bulldogs in program history and first road victory against a Top 25 opponent since the 2010 season.

Ohio State downed No. 14 Arizona, 6-0, Feb. 22 at the Marry Nutter Collegiate Classic in Palm Springs for its third win over a Top 20 opponent.

COACH SCHOENLYThe Buckeyes will be guided for the first time this weekend under first-year head coach Kelly Kovach Schoenly, who spent six seasons at Miami, posting a program-best 188 wins for the RedHawks.

Schoenly led the RedHawks to their first MAC Tournament title in 2009 before winning again in 2012. Schoenly also helped the team to two NCAA Tournament berths in both 2009 and 2012, respectively. Prior to her stint at Miami, Schoenly was an assistant coach at Penn State (1998-2006) for eight seasons and helped guide the Nittany Lions to seven Big Ten Tournament appearances and six NCAA Tournament berths. Before her time in State College, Schoenly was an assistant at her alma mater, Michigan, for three years (1995-98), helping the squad reach the NCAA Women's College World Series three consecutive times.

During her collegiate pitching career at Michigan (1991-95), Schoenly earned numerous conference and national awards, including 1995 NFCA First-Team All-America honors. A two-time Big Ten Pitcher of the Year and three-time all-conference selection, Schoenly was a member of three Big Ten Conference Championship teams.

UP NEXTOhio State hits the road to face conference-rival Michigan April 4-6 in Ann Arbor, Mich.